Bitter News, 3-31-10

• Kenneth Schneider, CEO of a London-based M&A firm, international business attorney and performing arts philanthropist, was charged “with two counts of sex tourism for engaging in an eight-year sexual relationship with a young ballet dancer he met in Russia, federal authorities announced today.” What’s the big deal about that? It’s not like he’s a law firm peeping tom. Right up Deidre Dare’s alley, perhaps. Oh, wait. “According to the indictment, Schneider was working as a legal consultant in Moscow in 1998 when he met a 12-year-old boy who was a student at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy.” And you can pretty much imagine the sick s#!t that develops from there. Allegedly. [Philly.com]

• BREAKING: An early memo has been leaked about this year’s looming U.S. News & World Report hyped rankings. It was lifted straight from the desk of rankings guru Robert Morse, and the way the T14 is shaping up so far will shock you. There’s really no need to even review the actual rankings when they’re published on April 15. [Concurring Opinions]

• A golf war that isn’t Titleist and Callaway’s $246 million dispute: Back in July 2008, Andrew Giuliani, the son of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, filed a federal lawsuit against Duke University after being kicked off the golf team for various minor infractions. Andrew claimed the former Duke golf coach lured him there with a promise he’d be able to play, but then the new coach cut him. Yesterday, a federal judge dismissed the case, and sweet Andrew’s golf career came to an end in three words: No enforceable contract. [New York Daily News]

• You can whimper and cry poor all you want, law firms, but in the end, you know you’ll never be willing to give up the perks. Just look at how many firms gobble up suites and skyboxes at major sports stadiums. Cost watching the Minnesota Twins from the comfort of a luxury box? About two secretaries and a first-year. [The Am Law Daily]

• President Obama on Tuesday signed into law a measure revamping the federal government’s role in providing student loans. No more having banks be the “unnecessary middlemen.” So, what does this mean for law students? Does it mean “your debt repayment won’t be crushing and force you into a soul-deadening Biglaw job?” Or will you just be paying higher taxes? [USA Today]

• Kenneth Schneider, CEO of a London-based M&A firm, international business attorney and performing arts philanthropist, was charged “with two counts of sex tourism for engaging in an eight-year sexual relationship with a young ballet dancer he met in Russia, federal authorities announced today.” What’s the big deal about that? It’s not like he’s a law firm peeping tom. Right up Deidre Dare’s alley, perhaps. Oh, wait. “According to the indictment, Schneider was working as a legal consultant in Moscow in 1998 when he met a 12-year-old boy who was a student at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy.” And you can pretty much imagine the sick s#!t that develops from there. Allegedly. [Philly.com]

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